MacAddict 24/MacAddict_024_1998_08.iso/Software/User Interface/Virtual Desktop 1.9.2/Virtual Desktop Help/Virtual Desktop Help.rsrc/STR#_1031.txt

Text File | 1998-05-02 | 11.7 KB | 517 lines






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åLimitations





You may occasionally find an application which does not work well with

Virtual Desktop, perhaps putting windows in places where you can’t see

them, or not redrawing them when you scroll the desktop.

See the section entitled “Sensitive Applications” for more information on

how to recognize and deal with incompatible applications.







Here is a list of applications whose users have reported problems (not all

verified):

•  Data Desk Professional [version 2.0] — sporadic crashes when using

doors

•  Brown tn3270 [version 2.3d28 or earlier] — crashes if terminal

window goes entirely off-screen

•  ColorSwitch [?] — ?

•  SmartCom II [version 3.3A, 3.4A, or 4.0A] - crashes if Virtual

Desktop Extension is installed

•  Mathematica [version 2.2 Student Edition] - crashes if virtual desktop

is scrolled while calculating

•  StuffIt Deluxe [version 3.0.7] - Magic Menu feature gets confused

about what to stuff

•  Metrowerks CodeWarrior Debug 68K [?] - crashes while

single-stepping through code

•  Empower [all versions] — desktop doesn’t redraw properly when

scrolling if screen cover option is on

•  GraceLAN Server Manager [?] — crashes if window goes entirely

off-screen

•  Logitech MouseKey [version 1.2] — crashes if window goes entirely

off-screen

•  ResEdit [version 2.1.3 or earlier] — color bitmap editors crash if

window goes entirely off-screen

The programs which crash if the window goes off-screen all have the

same programming error.  Even in the absence of Virtual Desktop, they

will crash if you drag the window’s title bar to the very bottom of the

screen.





The Trash can may not always end up where you put it, because its

position is stored in the Finder Preferences file, not like the rest of the

desktop icons.  This is under investigation.



Having the ability to scroll the desktop, it would be nice if users could

keep an eye on a specific part of the virtual desktop at all times.

Currently, you have the option to exempt an application’s windows from

scrolling, which you can use to keep its windows in view at all times.  The

proposed “watch windows” scheme would let you select any rectangular

section of the virtual desktop and keep it in view in a floating window.



Another common request is for a miniaturized Full View floating window

which would offer a bird’s-eye view of the changing virtual desktop

situation.  The current Full View window design forces you to block out

the desktop view to use it.



If you change the door to which an application’s windows are anchored

using the Application Preferences dialog, the windows should be moved

automatically.  Currently, they are not.



You may store the Virtual Desktop Preferences file in a central location

and store aliases to it in various Preferences folders, but avoid storing it

on a server, as the Virtual Desktop extension will attempt to resolve the

alias during startup, and this may cause your Macintosh to hang.



Doors whose names begin with a period ('.') are not listed in the pop-up

menu associated with the Anchor Application’s Items to Door option in the

Application Preferences dialog.










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åAcknowledgements





One big hug to Toni and the family for enduring a LOT of late nights.





Special thanks to the nearly 200 fine people who beta-tested this

software, and to others who provided useful information.


Click here to thank somebody personally!










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åRevision History






Click on any underlined item in this listing to read more about the revision


it describes.






1.9.2 (April 24, 1998)

•  Public AWOL Utilities 1.4 release.

•  Virtual Desktop is now compatible with the Mac OS 8.0 and 8.1

versions of Finder, and supports the new platinum appearance.  However,

the Appearance Extension prevents Virtual Desktop from displaying color

labels on the radio buttons in Full View mode.

•  Images of pop-up windows do not appear in Full View mode.  These

windows are exempt from scrolling, so they always remain at the bottom

of the screen.

•  Increased minimum and preferred memory sizes to accommodate Mac

OS 8.0.

•  Reduced the complexity of several system patches, to improve overall

performance.

•  Pressing the Home key while already at the home location no longer

causes Virtual Desktop to forget the last non-home location.

•  Corrected a bug which caused the Virtual Desktop Doors control strip

module not to pop up if clicked too quickly.

•  Corrected a bug which sometimes caused the Grow Desktop menu

command to be disabled inappropriately.

•  Corrected a bug which sometimes left door icon windows improperly

drawn or blank.

•  Changed the name “Usage Preferences” to “Navigation Preferences”,

which better reflects its purpose.



1.9.1 (April 12, 1998)

•  Never released.



1.9 (March 6, 1996)

•  Public AWOL Utilities 1.3 release.

•  Added alerts offering to install the “Virtual Desktop Doors” Control

Strip module and “Quit Virtual Desktop” application in your System folder

after installing the “Virtual Desktop Extension” system extension, if

appropriate.  These files are now generated from inside the application,

not distributed alongside it.

•  Added the Install menu, to let you install appropriate System folder

components at any time.

•  Added support for the Display Manager, adjusting automatically when

you reconfigure your displays.

•  Changed the Full View display so that windows rolled up using

WindowShade appear the same as hidden windows.

•  Changed the effect of the “Switch to item via Finder…” door option so

that scrolling happens before the item is opened, not after.  This makes it

more likely that the resulting windows will open in the right place.

•  Improved the response to selections from the Door menu and Control

Strip module.

•  Corrected a bug which left an unusable extension file in the Extensions

folder if installation failed due to Gatekeeper virus protection.  The

previous fix (in 1.8) was not completely successful.  This version also

reports the evidence of an earlier failed installation, and how to fix it.

•  Corrected a bug which affected the appearance of menus and color

dialogs on Power Macintoshes.

•  Corrected a bug which caused Virtual Desktop to present some alerts

while in the background.



1.8 (October 17, 1994)

•  Public AWOL Utilities 1.2 release.

•  Added the optional Door menu, allowing easy access to doors from any

application, even if the Virtual Desktop application is not running.

•  Added the “Virtual Desktop Doors” Control Strip module.

•  Added the Shove Mouse navigation option, a much-wanted bit of

mimicry.

•  Enhanced the navigation options for more flexible selection of modifier

keys.

•  Added a navigation option to suppress the scroll bar windows.

•  Added a navigation option to choose between half- and full-screen

scrolling.

•  Added a door option to open an arbitrary item via Finder when the door

is opened.

•  Added a door option to change the color depth when the door is opened.

•  Changed minimum virtual desktop padding from half a screenful to zero,

allowing more detail in Full View mode.

•  Corrected a bug which could cause white-on-white or black-on-black

printing of names in door icon windows.

•  Corrected a bug which left an unusable extension file in the Extensions

folder if installation failed due to virus protection.

•  Corrected a bug in the Door Preferences dialog which could cause a

crash on Macintoshes without Color QuickDraw.

•  Added the “Quit Virtual Desktop” application for use in the Shutdown

Items folder to assist Virtual Desktop by making it quit before all other

applications.



1.7 (March 28, 1994)

•  Public AWOL Utilities 1.1 release.

•  Corrected a bug which could cause keystrokes normally trapped by

other system extensions to reach the active application.



1.6.1 (March 27, 1994)

•  Added choice of door arrangements to the “New Door…” dialog.

•  If the Virtual Desktop application crashes and is re-opened, it does not

lose track of the true home location, and refrains from moving other

applications’ windows as it normally would.

•  Corrected a bug which could cause a switch to another application when

placing a new door.

•  Added an optional confirmation alert to the “Trash Door” menu

command.

•  Corrected a bug which could misplace desktop icons if the Exempt

Application’s Items From All Scrolling option were selected for desktop

icons.

•  Improved performance of the Use Key Combination option.



1.6.0 (March 13, 1994)

•  Corrected a bug which caused disk drives to access periodically while

Virtual Desktop Extension was installed.

•  Corrected a bug which could cause the About dialog to crash on

Macintoshes without Color QuickDraw.

•  Added a Help button to the alert which asks for permission to install

Virtual Desktop Extension.

•  Prevented Full View from using white as the color for an application’s

item images and radio button.

•  Added the “Rename Door…” menu command and dialog.

•  Added disabled item to the pop-up menu in the Application Preferences

dialog if the selected door no longer exists.

•  Corrected a bug which prevented default application preferences set by

the user from overriding the built-in defaults.

•  Prevented visible shifting of anchor and scroll bar windows when

opening, due to non-default layout preferences.

•  Added the thank-you hot button under Acknowledgements.



1.5.2 (February 27, 1994)

•  Corrected a Virtual Desktop Extension bug which sometimes prevented

other applications from finding files.

•  Corrected an incompatibility with SpeedyFinder7’s Help menu removal

option which prevented help display.

•  Virtual desktop growth is limited to 32,767 pixels in each direction.

•  Added support for virtual desktop scrolling using the Home, End, Page

Up, and Page Down keys.

•  Improved messages given when Virtual Desktop Extension is missing or

is out of date.

•  Added protection against loading duplicate copies of the extension.

•  Allowed the application to operate without a preferences file (for

example, when startup disk is locked).



1.5.1 (February 7, 1994)

•  Added virus protection removal advice to extension installation alert.

•  Corrected a bug which could cause a crash on exit immediately after a

version check or extension installation alert.

•  Corrected a bug which sometimes caused desktop icons to end up in the

wrong place.

•  Desktop icons are properly handled in Systems whose language is other

than English.

•  Increased minimum and preferred memory sizes to accommodate

PowerBook computers.



1.5.0 (January 30, 1994)

•  Added Virtual Desktop Extension to improve compatibility with other

programs.

•  If the Shift key is pressed on startup, the extension will not be loaded.

If the Help or Command-? key is pressed, the extension will delay up to

one second to let the user release the key(s).



1.4.1 (January 19, 1994)

•  If the help server is absent when Virtual Desktop requests help, and the

user agrees to save the help file as a TeachText document, the file is split

into two parts small enough for TeachText to handle.

•  Improved handling of desktop icons.



1.4.0 (October 2, 1993)

•  Initial AWOL Utilities 1.0 release.